The Sea Of Monsters
by Kako Koritsi
Summary: Sequel to "The Lightning Thief." Everything only seems to go downhill as Percy keeps on living, and he has to wonder if his unique powers were a gift or simply the Fates' idea of a joke. If that was all he would ever be, a game for higher beings to play, a toy for them to tear apart, he wasn't sure living was all that worth it anymore.
1. I've Never Seen A Shadow So Alone

The smell of waffles wafted into the cluttered kitchen, blue breakfast food being placed on the oak wood table. The plate thunked as it was set down, and Percy stared at the meal with a strange sense of foreboding.

Their apartment was a cozy little place that felt a lot bigger without a certain sleazy poker player. It was cold outside in the early morning but warm within their walls, busy city noises being blocked out by the sound of the frying pan and clattering of silverware. He picked up his fork, holding it in his hand, and poked at his waffle.

Sally pulled out the chair across from him at their quaint dinner table, and he flinched at the squeaking its legs made as they raked the floor. His mom smiled at him brightly, and he aimed a ghost of the grin back at her before turning back to his food.

Percy stabbed the waffle with the side of his fork, cutting through the blue food and impaling it with his silverware. He brought it to his mouth, closing his lips tightly around the fork and pulling it out slowly. He chewed at a snail's pace, not so much to savor but to try and get lost in the buttery taste, but against his tongue it felt more like sandpaper.

Sally frowned at him. "Percy, are you alright?" He put down his fork, grabbing for the glass of fresh orange juice at his side, and he took a gulp of the sour drink.

It washed the traces of waffle from his mouth and clawed down his throat. Percy wrinkled his nose, letting the glass set back on the table top. "Yeah," he finally answered. "I'm fine."

She raised an eyebrow. "School, or..." She didn't need to finish. Percy knew what his mom was thinking.

He gave a small shrug. "I think Grover's in trouble." Percy tapped his hand against his thighs, feeling the fabric of his jeans against the tips of his fingers. "I had this dream last night."

Sally pursed her lips. He knew that his mom didn't like talking about his "other life," but he also knew she would break their illusion of normalcy for his satyr friend.

"I wouldn't be too worried," she consoled. "If there was a problem, I'm sure we would've heard from camp." She faltered at the last word, and he narrowed his eyes.

"What is it?" She shook her head, the top of her brown hair catching the light of their overhead lamp and making it shine like a halo.

"Nothing," she promised. He sighed, pushing away his plate, and she looked at him sadly. "I'll tell you what. This afternoon, we'll celebrate the end of school. I'll take you and Tyson to Rockefeller Center."

He perked up slightly at the sound of his favorite skateboard shop, and being able to put a grin on his school friend's face was tempting. Even so, something about the offer bothered him.

"Wait," Percy said. "I thought we were packing me up for camp tonight." She finished the last of her waffles, standing to put away their dishes, and he watched her with confused eyes colored like his father's domain.

His mom set their plates in the sink, turning towards him and leaning her back against the counter. "About that," she fidgeted. "I got a message from Chiron last night."

He blinked. "What did he say?" She crossed her arms, large sweater setting over her willowy form.

"He thinks that it might not be safe for you to come to camp just yet," Sally told her son. "We might have to postpone."

Percy felt a wave of fear clamber up in his chest and wrap around his heart. It was gone the instant it came, instinct coming in to calm him down. He needed a solution, not stress.

"Postpone?" He repeated. "Why wouldn't it be safe? Mom, I'm a half-blood. It's the only safe place on Earth for me."

"Usually, dear. But with the problems their having-"

His composure melted away. "Problems? What problems?"

"Percy..." He settled down, hands clenched into tight fists. He had been waiting to leave for too long, feeling all too much like a duck sitting in a pond of false tranquility. "I'm very, very sorry."

"About what?" His mouth felt dry. "Sorry about what?"

"I was hoping to talk to you about it this afternoon," she continued. "I can't explain it all now. I'm not even sure Chiron can. Everything happened so suddenly."

Percy's mind was reeling. What had happened? How could he not go to camp? The teenager had about a million questions to ask but their clock decided to chime in at the half hour, biding them to hurry.

Sally looked relieved. "Seven-thirty, dear. You should go. Tyson will be waiting." He made to object but she cut him off. "Percy, we'll talk this afternoon. Go on to school."

He wanted to push, but he saw the fragile look in his mother's eyes, like her insides had turned to glass that might shatter all too easily. And she was right about one thing, after all. He couldn't keep Tyson waiting. His friend was scared of traveling underground alone.

Percy gathered up his things, stopping at the doorway. "Mom, this problem at camp," he said. "Does it have anything to do with my dream? About Grover?"

She wouldn't meet his eyes. "We'll talk this afternoon. I'll explain as much as I can." He nodded, giving her a reluctant goodbye and a kiss on her cheek before heading out. He jogged downstairs, rushing to catch the Number Two train.

As he stepped outside, he glanced at the brownstone building across the street. It was another dark hue against the ashy skies, but for a second, he thought he saw a dark shape in the hazy sun; a human silhouette against the wall, a shadow that belonged to no one.

It only rippled and vanished, leaving him even more alone.

* * *

><p>Meriwether College Prep was a progressive school tucked away in downtown Manhattan. It was the kind of school where kids sat around in bean bags instead of chairs and the teachers never gave out grades. The laid-back style suited him well enough, and he never minded going.<p>

Percy didn't know if that same mindset had come with him today. He stuck close to his friend on the large break ground, swinging back and forth on a hanging tire while Tyson glanced nervously around. The guy was huge, taller than any of the adults, and he had a kind of face Percy could never truly meet.

The tire creaked as he put his weight on it, and he dug his heels into the chips of wood, slowing the motion. Tyson looked at him curiously. "You okay?"

He opened his mouth to answer, interrupted swiftly. The school bully had managed to sneak up on his friend, and Tyson screamed, swatting him away with in surprise. He put a bit too much strength in the defense and sent the bully flying, landing on his backside several feet away.

"You freak!" He yelled, face red with embarrassing and anger. "Go back to your cardboard box!"

Percy flinched. Tyson lived in a cardboard refrigerator box off 72nd street, adapted by the school as a community service project to make students feel good about them themselves. Despite his massive size and scary looks he was a big softie, and the kids liked to use that to their advantage.

Tyson's chin trembled. "Take it back, Sloan!" Percy snarled. The kid just sneered.

"Why do you even bother, Jackson?" Sloan got to his feet, and Tyson backed away from the tire set as the bully approached. "You might have friends if you weren't always sticking up for that freak."

Percy balled his fists, glaring up at Sloan from where he sat. "He's not a freak. He's just-" he faltered, the bully only laughing. His friends at the sidelines joined in, and it was almost like he had twice as many of the large guys chiming in. Percy huffed at the commotion.

"Just wait till later, Jackson," Sloan smirked. "You're so dead."He went to join his cronies, flipping the teen off as he went, and Percy resisted the urge to stick _Anaklusmos_ through his chest.

Percy abandoned his tire, heading to his sobbing friend. He had to reach up on the tip of his toes to pat Tyson on the back, but it seemed to slow the tears. He sniffled.

"I am... I am a freak?" Percy shook his head.

"No," he promised, gritting his teeth. "Matt Sloan is the freak."

Tyson trembled. "You are a good friend. Miss you next year, if I, if I can't-" he choked on his tears. Percy frowned. The school hasn't decided whether he would be invited back next year for the project. He didn't know what Tyson would do alone.

"Don't worry, big guy," Percy comforted. "Everything's going to be fine." The grateful look Tyson gave him only made him feel worse.

* * *

><p>Percy sighed. The sound went unnoticed in the loud buzz in his history class, talking filling up the study session. Books filled the surrounded shelves, windows blocked by flowing curtains and leaving the inside fairly dark. It smelled liked dusty papers and whiteboard markers, teacher at the front too engrossed in her book to shush her class.<p>

The demigod fiddled with his pencil, twirling the object between his fingers. His textbook laid open in front of him, flipped to some random page, but his dyslexia scrambled up the letters and gave him a headache at every paragraph. Percy exhaled through his nose, giving up on the worksheet for a while.

He opened his binder, shuffling through the papers and dumping them on one side. Percy looked at the picture taped to the inside of his folder. It was a photo of Annabeth, blonde hair tucked into a bandana as she posed in front of the Lincoln Memorial like she had designed it herself. He allowed himself a small grin, and it felt almost alien on his face.

The daughter of Athena had emailed the picture to him after spring break and he had kept it to remind himself of what he was coming back to. She had offered to send him some pictures of Luke but he had refused the offer. He wasn't sure he was ready to see those blue eyes again, even if they were behind a camera.

Percy wished Annabeth was here. She would know what to make of his dreams, would know how to help him. He made to close his binder, yelping when a pair of greedy hands reached out and tore the photograph from where it was. He snapped his neck up, Matt Sloan's mischievous eyes glimmering at him.

"Hey!" Percy protested. Sloan checked out the slip of paper, eyes widening.

"Woah, Jackson," he whistled. "This your girlfriend? She's hot." He blushed furiously.

"It's not like that!" He shouted. "Just give it back!" Sloan chuckled, handing it over to his cronies, and they started to tear it apart. Percy's heart lurched.

"Stop!" He stood, lunging forward, but there was nothing to grab. Matt tripped him and he fell to the ground, slamming against the rough floor. Due to his desk being in the very back their teacher didn't even look up, and he knew he was alone on this.

He got to his feet, leaning his hand against his desk for support, and Sloan merely watched. "See my new friends?" The bully asked, gesturing to the group of new kids. "They're moving here next year. I bet they can pay the tuition, too, unlike your retard friend."

"He's not retarded," Percy grunted out, seething. He almost thought he heard thunder outside, but if lightning had flashed through the skies outside, the curtains obscured the sight.

Sloan rolled his eyes. "You're such a loser, Jackson," he taunted. "Good thing I'm gonna put you outta your misery next period."

Percy growled, and the floor shook as he stood. Sloan and his buddies were saved by the bell as it rang, noise echoing through the halls. The bully ruffled his hair as he passed out the doors, and Percy could only glare at the ground.

"Percy!" It sounded like a girl's voice that had called him. His shoulders stiffened, glancing around, but there was nobody there. As if anyone would be caught yelling his name.

The teenager kicked a chair as he passed, backpack not nearly as heavy as the invisible weight stress had left on his shoulders.

* * *

><p><em>Sorry for the wait in getting this sequel up! I don't know if I'll be able to get another update in this month, but the chapters should get back to normal after the holidays. And the next chapter will be much longer. A big welcome to all you guys who are joining this story from the prequel! :)<em>


	2. And The Lightning Takes Us

**Sorry for the huge delay in getting this up, and thank you for all your support and patience! Updates should return back to normal.**

**Another-Fangirl-On-The-Premise: **Thank you, love! Pssst, I'm working on a sequel of sorts for that prompt I made you a while ago. Any set things you want to see? Don't tell the others! ;)

Flickering** Ember: **Thank you for the patience! You all are extremely amazing. I promise you won't have to wait this long for the upcoming chapters :)

* * *

><p>The gym was huge. Its ceiling stretched up above their heads, shiny floors squeaking under the weight of their sneakers. Banners hung on the white painted walls, lights shining from the spotlights and making the place brighter. Percy glanced nervously around the room, pulling on his tie-dyed shirt out of habit.<p>

The PE teacher was sitting at his desk in the corner, reading some sports magazine. He looked up when Sloan called. "Coach Nunley?"

Tyson moved closer to Percy. "Eh?" The coach barked, glancing up from his read.

Sloan smiled that crooked grin of his. "Can I be team captain?"

Percy blinked, spotting the rack of dodge balls shoved up against the wall. They were little spheres of hell, and he wasn't looking forward to being pelted with them today. The teenager sighed through his nose.

Coach Nunley hummed something in affirmation, waving a hand dismissively as he turned back to his magazine. Sloan chuckled under his breath, striding up to the center of the court. He started calling out all his usual cronies and some of the new exchange students they had gotten today, filling up his team with buff and muscular jerks.

That left Percy's team. They had Tyson, which was a pretty fair advantage, seeing as he was a tank. Unfortunately, he was as weak-willed as all the others when it came to having dodge balls pelted at your face, and had a knack of running as far back as possible from the onslaught. All the other kids were small and skinny, some sniffling, most having received their fair share of bullying at school. It wasn't the best set-up for Percy, admittedly.

Sloan spilled the rack of balls, the rubber spheres rolling across the floor and bouncing only slightly. Tyson nudged his best friend. "Scared," he murmured. "Smell funny."

Percy glanced at him. He doubted Tyson was talking about himself. "What smells funny?"

"Them." He pointed at the group of burly exchange students. "Smell funny."

The visitors were growling and cracking their knuckles, and Percy thought that they resembled caged animals eyeing their prey. He distinctly wondered where they had come from. Likely from the pits of Tartarus.

He really hoped it was only a joke.

Sloan had the coach's bright green whistle in his hands. He threw Percy a sly wink before blowing on the tiny device. The sharp screech rang through the gym, swallowed by the sound of a mass of students diving for the middle of the court- at least, on Sloan's team. Percy had to make room for one of his teammates, spying as he ran to the exit while shouting a surrender in Urdu. Several of his fellow students opted to hide behind the wall mats, while the rest simply cowered in fear and tried to not look like targets.

"Tyson," Percy called out. Luckily, his friend had stuck by his side. "Let's get-"

A dodge ball rammed right into his gut. Percy grunted in surprise and pain, sliding down hard on the cold gym floor. The other team exploded in laughter.

Percy's eyesight went fuzzy, and he coughed, stomach sore. He felt like he had just gotten the Heimlich maneuver from a gorilla. How could anybody hit that hard?

Tyson yelled out, breaking him from his reverie. "Percy, duck!" He rolled out of the way as another ball whistled past his ear at the speed of sound. It hit one of the wall mats, and the kid hiding behind it yelped.

"Hey!" Percy shouted at Sloan's team. Tyson helped him up, steadying him to his feet. "You could kill somebody!"

One of the visitors grinned at him. Tattoos ran along his chiseled arms, and somehow, he looked almost larger than he had before. Larger and meaner. His biceps bulged underneath his T-shirt. "I hope so, Perseus Jackson!" He taunted. "I hope so!"

The way he said Percy's name sent a chill down the son of Poseidon's spine. Nobody had called him that, not anyone that didn't know his true identity. Nobody that wasn't a friend... or an enemy.

The missing piece of the puzzle clicked inside Percy's mind, and then it was complete. What had Tyson said? _They smell funny. _

"Monsters," Percy whispered, a thing of horror to himself.

The kids were no longer kids. Between a blink of his eyes they had grown into eight foot tall giants, wild eyes gleaming and teeth set at points. Sloan screamed, dropping his dodge ball, and his friends made for the doors. One of the giants threw a ball with perfect accuracy, hitting the door and slamming it shut like magic.

Percy knew it wouldn't budge. He caught Sloan's gaze from across the gym, brimming with fear, and felt a surge of anger. Sure, he had never liked the bully, but that didn't mean he deserved this.

"Let them go!" The teenager demanded. His voice cut through the chaos, and it was almost as if everyone grew a bit quieter at the words. One giant, flimsy name tag reading "Joe Bob" looked at Percy curiously.

"And lose our tasty morsels?" He questioned, almost sounding genuinely surprised. "No, son of the Sea God. We Laistrygonians aren't just playing for your death." The mangled mess of letters shoved into a word rang in his ears. "We want lunch!"

He snapped his beefy fingers. Suddenly, a new rack of balls appeared on the gym floored, but they weren't made of rubber. The dodge balls gleamed, surface crafted in celestial bronze, and their outline was tinged with smoke to show they bore extreme heat. They must have been searing hot, but Joe Bob picked one up with his bare hands.

Percy stepped back as the frenzied screaming picked back up. "Coach!" He shouted, and the teacher looked up dreamily. If he saw anything abnormal he didn't let on, turning back to his reading, Mist shielding his fragile mortal sight from the horror show.

A giant named Skull Eater threw a ball. It sailed over his head, blowing a crater into the ground. Another cannonball whooshed past his shoulder, headed towards the wall mat.

"Cory!" Percy screamed, the student's name clicking in the panicked recesses of his consciousness. Tyson took charge, diving forward and pulling the kid out seconds before the ball made contact. It seared burn marks into the mat's spongy surface.

Percy thought hard. "Run!" He ordered his friends. "To the other exit!" The registered what he had said, making to the opposite door, but it was closed just the same with another wave of Joe Bob's hand.

"No one leaves until you're out!" Joe Bob screeched. "And no one's out until we eat you!" He launched his own fireball, and Percy's fellow students scattered like ants.

Percy searched for _Anaklusmos_, hands colliding against pocketless gym shorts. A wave of anxiety washed over him, heart skipping a few beats. His pen was in his jeans, tucked inside his locker room and outside the gym. He was defenseless.

Another cannonball came streaking towards him, blazing with flames in a clean arch that cut through the air. Tyson pushed him out of danger's way, but the explosion still blew him head over heels. Percy lay dazed on the floor, dyed shirt peppered with sizzling holes that tainted the fabric. He groaned.

Just across the center line, two giants were snarling at him. "Flesh!" One bellowed. "Hero flesh for lunch!" They both took aim.

Tyson started. "Percy needs help!" He declared, diving into the way, and his best friend screamed. He watched in horror as the balls speed at him, but the feeling dulled into a shocked amazement. Clumsy Tyson managed to catch both searing spheres of flame in his hands, hurtling them back to their surprised owners who only managed to look scared as they exploded across their chests.

The giants disintegrated into twin columns of smoke, dust dissipating into the air. It was a sure sign they were monsters, souls being dragged back down to the pit with Kronos until they rose millennia later. It was an endless cycle, killing these beasts and others like them, that demigods have and will be forced into until the end of time.

And Percy supposed that included him, too.

"My brothers!" Joe Bob roared. His shirt ripped along the outline of his muscles. "You will pay for their destruction!"

"Tyson!" Percy said. "Look out!" The warning pushed off his tongue just as another comet hurtled towards the two. Tyson just had time to swat it aside, and they watched as it flew straight over Coach Nunley's head and landed in bleachers.

Kids were running around and screaming out to the gods, trying to avoid the smoking craters in the ground. Crowds of students were still banging on the exits, calling for help. Percy made out Sloan standing petrified in the middle of the court, watching in disbelief as comets of flame flew around him.

The coach hadn't looked up. He was taping his hearing aid as if the explosions were giving him interference. Percy held in a shriek of bottled down stress. Surely the whole school could hear the noise. Someone had to come for them.

"Victory will be ours!" Roared Joe Bob. "We will feast on your bones!" Percy glared at them.

"Dude," he muttered. "You're taking this dodgeball game _way_ too seriously." The Laistrygonians didn't bother with a response, three of them hefting large bronze dodge balls and taking their aim.

Percy knew they were dead. There was no way Tyson could reflect all those cannonballs on his own, and his hands had to be seriously burned from blocking the first ones. Without his sword, well, what could he do?

An idea popped into the flitting expanses of his mind. Percy wasn't a hero just because of his sword skills. He was a child of Poseidon, and even more, he had something no other demigod had been gifted with before.

He had the powers of the three king gods, and damn it to Hades, he was going to use them.

Percy ran to the locker room door. "Move!" He yelled at his teammates, and they made way for him. Percy's outstretched hand reached the exit, doorknob a lost cause. He knew the rest was up to him.

He shut his eyes tight, being met by wavering darkness. The hero concentrated, focusing his raw energy into one heavy blow. He reached out to the Underworld stewing below their feet, to the oceans washing away their land, to the skies stretching endlessly over the Earth. Percy felt the power forming in his gut. Opening his eyes, he gave a shout-

-and the fragility of his concentration vanished as a kid shoved him out of the way. It was a difficult thing to call on command and now his efforts were dust in the wind, but he owed the kid his life. As it happened, the cannonball that had been making a literal crash course to his head hit the door, spitting open the wood and revealing the locker room behind.

The cannonball banged into the lockers in the back and blew them apart, dimming away in the wreck. Kids swarmed through the large hole in the door, and Percy himself was about to go in when a roar full of bloodlust echoed through the gym.

He turned back just in time to see Tyson punch Skull Eater in the face. The giant crumpled, leaving Tyson heaving over a mess of golden sand. He faced Joe Bob, but the last monster had held his ball wisely, waiting for the right opportunity. Percy barely made out the bronze comet as it flew.

"No!" Percy screamed. The outburst left his throat aching, but he couldn't force himself to care. He saw as the cannonball collided into his friend, and as Tyson was launched back, his fury buckled out from the cage it had been locked inside from the depths of his gut.

The skies boomed, and the ceiling was lit by an extraordinary strike of lightning. The power of it blasted the roof to pieces, causing the construct to rain pieces of the building over their heads. It missed any people below, crashing onto the ground and forming larger craters than the ones left by the cannonballs. Flames caught to the burning school, and the sound of the fire alarm rang distantly in his ears.

The kids stared at astonishment from their hideout in the locker room. Percy blinked warily and Tyson through the rubble. His friend had collided with the far wall, back hitting the mat and pillowing the hit. He was sitting stunned on the ground, gazing blearily at the wreck that used to be their gym.

Percy's knees wavered. A rush of nausea buzzed around his clouding head, and he stumbled to the ground. His lunch came in the form of vomit, spilling out onto the floor, and he had to make an effort not to fall into the mess. That little show had taken more power than he had, and it was a miracle he hadn't blacked out.

The hero raised his head weakly from his kneel. Joe Bob was blinking at him, astonishment sprawled out over his ugly features. "B-but how?" He demanded. "You are a child of Poseidon! How are you able to control Zeus' sphere of power?"

_You tell me_, he wanted to retort, but the words didn't quite make it out from his lips. The giant narrowed his eyes, stepping towards his shaking form, but he turned rigid as one of Medusa's victims before he could make it too far.

The shimmering, crimson coated tip of a sword poked through where his belly button would have been. Percy recognized the blade of _Anaklusmos_ piercing through Joe Bob's midsection, and the wielder of his weapon was revealed behind a gust of golden smoke.

Annabeth looked just as she had in her photo. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, clothes disheveled and face flecked with sweat. Her stormy grey eyes had a crazy tint to them, as if she had run a million miles chased by ghosts.

Matt Sloan, watching from the front of the locker room door, made his presence known with a stutter. "But that's- that's the girl-"

Annabeth threw _Anaklusmos_ at his feet. Sloan yelped, tripping backwards and hitting the lockers. The sword's blade shimmered in the sunlight from above, embedded in the wooden floorboards like a bronze Excalibur.

"And you," Annabeth barked at him, "lay off my friend."

The gym was in flames. Kids were running around screaming, sirens wailing in the distance. A garbled voice was blowing through the intercom, and a line of teachers could be heard trying to get through the locked exit door.

The daughter of Athena turned to him. Immediately, her gaze grew concerned. She opened her mouth to speak but he beat her to it in the way of stammers. "Annabeth? How did you- how long were you-"

"Pretty much all morning." She tucked a strand of blonde behind her ear, and Percy spied the baseball cap shoved in her back pocket. "I've been trying to find a good time to talk to you, but you were never alone." She looked up to the open skies as he tried to work with the new information. "I can't imagine how you were able to do this."

He was still several steps behind. "But..." He trailed off for a second. "I don't- I don't understand."

"Neither do I," Annabeth mused. "Your powers are getting out of hand. All because of some idiot getting in the way."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "What?" His eyes darted to Tyson, still dazed on the floor. Annabeth met the gaze, and there was a certain kind of disgust in the look he couldn't comprehend.

"Meet me outside," she ordered. "And you better bring him, too."

Percy's mind was spinning. "_What_?" The teachers had gotten through the far door, and were making their way to him.

"No time!" She urged, pulling out her Yankees cap. "Hurry!" Annabeth disappeared, leaving him in the ruins of his battle.


End file.
